Dancing at Midnight (27 page)

John offered her a rakish grin. "And would you say it was on purpose

that you're out now?"

"Well, maybe not exactly." She blushed. "But I had been hoping..."

"You're shameless."

"Perhaps, but you'll note that this story has a happy ending."

John's thoughts turned to the mystery man who had attacked them both.

"Unfortunately, this particular chapter has not

reached a conclusion."

Belle sobered. "Well, a happy middle, then. Or whatever it is one calls

the part right before the climax."

"I rather thought we climaxed last night."

Belle's cheeks reached unparalleled heights of pinkness. "I was speaking

in literary terms," she muttered unnecessarily.

John decided to stop torturing her and shut his still smiling mouth.

After a suitable interlude, he asked, "Do you think

Persephone will have risen yet?"

Belle frowned and looked at the sky, which was still pink and orange

with the last stripes of dawn. "I'm not certain. She's a strange bird. I

never know quite what to make of her. Besides, I'm rarely up at this

hour, so I wouldn't know if she's an early riser."

"Well, for your sake I hope she's still abed. The only thing she could

really do is insist that I marry you, which wouldn't be a problem

because I plan to do exactly that and with all possible haste. All the

same, I'd like to avoid screaming and swooning and all that female

nonsense."

Belle gave him a sharp look at the "female nonsense" comment and

muttered, "I imagine that Persephone and I will manage to comport

ourselves in a manner so as not to offend your masculine sensibilities."

John's lips twitched. "See that you do."

Belle was spared from further comment by their arrival at her front

steps. She had had the foresight to bring a key with her

the previous night, and they slipped silently inside. John immediately

made as if to leave, not wanting to create a scene.

"Please don't go yet," Belle said quickly, placing a gentle hand on his

arm. Amazingly, none of the servants had witnessed

their clandestine entrance. "Wait for me in the library. I'll run up and

change into something more suitable."

John regarded her masculine attire with a smile and nodded as Belle

scurried up the stairs. She stopped on the landing, looked back down

with an impish grin, and said, "We have much to discuss."

He nodded again as he saw himself into the library. He trailed his

fingers along the spines of the books until he found one with

an intriguing title and plucked it off the shelf. He browsed through it

lazily, not paying much attention to the words. His thoughts rested

stubbornly on the fair-haired angel just upstairs from him. What on

earth had possessed her to climb a tree to his third-story window? Not

that he was displeased with the results, but still, he'd kill her if she

tried something like that again. He sighed as his body grew warm, not

with desire but with contentment.

She was his. He still wasn't certain how it had all come about, but she

was his.

Belle reappeared dressed in a pale pink frock which brought out the

natural rosiness of her cheeks. Her hair had been hastily pulled back

into a loose knot which, while no one would mistake the style for

fashionable, was at least presentable.

John raised a brow at her speedy transformation. "Only five minutes, my

lady. I am stunned ... and impressed."

"Oh, come now, it's not that difficult to get oneself dressed," Belle said.

"My sisters could never accomplish it in less than two hours."

"I suppose it all depends on how badly one wants to get where one is going."

"And did you want to get where you were going very badly?"

"Oh, yes," Belle breathed. "Very badly." She took a step toward him, and

then another and another, until they were quite close.

"I think you've made a wanton out of me."

"I certainly hope so."

Belle noticed that his breathing had grown slightly ragged and smiled.

It was nice to know that she could affect him the way

he did her. "Oh, by the way," she said offhandedly. "It usually /does

/take more than five minutes for a lady to get changed."

"What?" John's eyes had glazed over with desire, and his mind absolutely

refused to comprehend her statement.

Belle turned around. "The buttons."

He sucked in his breath as he gazed at her smooth white back, laid bare

by her gaping dress.

"Would you mind?" she asked softly. Wordlessly, John slipped her buttons

into their buttonholes, his fingers straying to her

warm skin at every possible occasion. When he reached the top one, he

leaned down and dropped a tender kiss on the

fragrant skin of her neck.

"Thank you," Belle said softly as she turned around. Every nerve ending

on her neck and back felt as if it had suddenly come

alive. Aware that she was going to have to behave with a bit more

propriety—they were in her father's library, after all—she moved over to

an overstuffed leather chair and sat down. "We do have a few matters to

discuss," she said after making herself comfortable.

"Tomorrow." John lowered himself into the chair next to hers.

"I beg your pardon?"

"We're getting married tomorrow."

Belle blinked. "That's a bit soon, don't you think?" She had resigned

herself to the fact that she was not going to have the

wedding of her dreams, but she rather thought she deserved something a

little special. She doubted that any of her relatives

would be able to make it to London to witness her nuptials if John had

his way.

"I'd do it today, but I think a lady ought to have a bit of time."

Belle eyed him warily, hoping that he was being sarcastic. "We don't

need to be quite so hasty."

Her words did not worry him; John knew that she wasn't trying to back

out of the marriage. Still, he had no desire for a long engagement. Not

after what he had tasted the night before. "I should think we need to be

extremely hasty. I want you near me where I can see to your safety. Not

to mention the fact that you could be carrying my child."

Belle paled. She had been so swept away by passion she hadn't even given

a thought to the possible consequences. She

supposed that was why so many people ended up having rather inconvenient

babies. "I wasn't proposing that we wait for

months. I was merely hoping for a week or so. Besides, you will need

time to obtain a special license."

"Got it."

"Already?"

"Last week. When I gave you a fortnight to wait for your parents to get

home."

"My fortnight is not up." Belle smiled triumphantly and leaned back. She

had won herself a few days, at least.

"Sorry, but that offer was extended before I realized that we had a

rather inconvenient enemy.

I'm no longer willing to wait that long. I'll say it again—I want you

near me where I can keep an eye on you."

Belle sighed to herself. He was really being quite romantic, and she was

certainly not immune to a little romance. Still, she

doubted that she could even get herself a new dress for her wedding if

it were held tomorrow. The thought of getting married in one of her old

frocks was decidedly /not /romantic. She looked up at him, trying to

deduce whether there was any use in pleading her cause. He looked

implacable. "All right. Tomorrow it is. In the evening," she added quickly.

"I thought weddings were held in the morning."

"This one won't be," she muttered.

John nodded graciously. He could grant her that. He rose and smoothed

down his coat. "If you'll excuse me, I have some arrangements to make.

Have you a favorite clergyman? Someone whom you would especially like to

perform the service?"

Belle was touched that he had thought to ask but told him that there was

no one in particular of whom she was especially fond. "But you'd better

take some of my footmen with you," she added. "I don't want you going

out alone."

John assented. He was of the opinion that his enemy would choose to

attack at night, but there seemed no reason not to take precautions.

"And I want you to stay here," he warned.

She smiled at his concern. "You can be assured that if I do go out, I

shall take along no less than eight companions."

"I shall personally throttle you if you do not," John grumbled. "I'll

call later today once I know when a clergyman is available."

Belle followed him out into the hall and arranged for two of her footmen

to spend the day with him.

She accompanied him to the front door, where he took her hand and placed

a light kiss on her palm. "Oh, John," she sighed.

"Will I ever get enough of you?"

"I certainly hope not." He smiled cheekily and slipped out die door.

Belle shook her head and wandered up the stairs. Good God, was she

really getting married tomorrow?

She sighed. She was.

She made her way to her bedroom and crossed over to her desk and sat

down. She pulled out some of her writing paper and

a quill. Where to start? She decided to write to her brother.

Dearest Ned,

I am getting married tomorrow evening. Won't you come?

Belle

She smiled and slipped the cryptic note into a creamy envelope. That

ought to get him down to London in a hurry. Her note to Dunford was

identical except that she included John's name. Not that it would come

as much of a surprise to him.

Emma wouldn't stand for anything quite as mysterious, so Belle decided

to be frank. Besides, her cousin already knew quite

a bit about her relationship with John.

Dearest Emma,

To my great joy, John and I have decided to marry.

Unfortunately, we must do so with great haste.

Belle frowned as she wrote that. Emma would certainly think the worst.

Of course, she would be correct, but Belle was not inclined to think of

the recent events in her life as the "worst" anything. Nevertheless, she

continued on in her missive.

I realize that this is terribly short notice, but I hope that you and

Alex will be able to come to London tomorrow

for my wedding. Unfortunately, I do not yet know the exact time of the

ceremony, but it will be held in the evening.

Belle's frown turned into a grimace. That was a lot of "unfortunatelys"

for what was supposed to be a joyous event. She

was really making a mess of this. Giving up all pretense of elegant

writing, she quickly finished up the note.

I imagine you're surprised. I'm a little surprised myself. I'll explain

it all to you when you arrive.

Much love,

Belle

She was just about to take the letters downstairs and ask a servant to

summon three swift messengers when Persephone

walked by her open door.

"Goodness, you're up early," the older lady exclaimed.

Belle smiled and nodded, suppressing the devilish urge to point out that

she had never precisely gone to bed.

"Any particular reason?" Persephone persisted.

"I'm getting married tomorrow." No reason not to be blunt.

Persephone blinked like an owl. "Excuse me?"

"Married."

The blinking continued. Belle revised her opinion slightly and decided

that her chaperone resembled

an ordinary owl not so much as a somewhat deficient one. After a few

moments, however, her bird-like friend regained her

voice. "Is it someone we know?"

"Why, Lord Blackwood, of course," Belle snapped irritatedly. "Who else?"

Persephone shrugged her shoulders. "He has not come by for some time."

"I'd hardly call a few days 'some time. " Belle said defensively. "And

anyway, that is much beside the point as we are

reconciled and getting married tomorrow evening."

"Indeed."

"Aren't you even going to congratulate me?"

"Of course, dear. You know that I think he is a very fine man, but I

feel that I have somehow failed in my duties as your chaperone. However

will I explain this to your parents?"

"You don't even know my parents, and furthermore, they haven't the

slightest clue that I've got a chaperone." Belle looked over

to Persephone and immediately realized that she had said the wrong

thing. The older lady seemed to have metamorphosed from

an ill owl to an agitated ferret. "Try to think of it this way," Belle

offered hopefully. "The aim of all young ladies is to get married, or so

we're told. Correct?"

Persephone nodded, but she looked dubious.

"I'm getting married. Therefore I have achieved a noble goal, and this

reflects well on you, as my chaperone and companion." Belle smiled

weakly, unable to think of the last time she had uttered such complete

nonsense.

Persephone shot her a look which seemed to say, "Oh, really?" in the

most sarcastic of tones.

"All right," Belle gave in. "It's an uncommon situation, I admit. And

people will probably talk about it for weeks. We've simply

got to make the best of it. And besides all that, I'm happy."

Persephone's lips curved into a romantic half-smile. "Then that's all

that matters."

*  *  *

Belle was certain that she would never be able to sleep that night, but